Method for urban beautification using camouflage on windows and doors

ABSTRACT

A method for beautification of an uninhabited or condemned building in an urban area utilizing camouflage sheeting placed over sealing materials (such as plywood) which have been secured across door and window penetrations to prevent egress by unauthorized persons. The camouflage depicts a realistic rendering of an external door, or a view through a window to the interior of a room, making it appear to a casual external observer that proper doors and windows are in place. The rendering may be made of UV-resistant coloring and covered with UV-resistant laminate. The camouflage sheeting may be made from paper, plastic or fabric and is sized to suit its respective opening and may be adhered to said egress-preventing materials or to the edges of said penetrations. The disclosed method of urban beautification is an economical solution to the loss of aesthetics caused by the boarding up of abandoned or condemned housing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/791,474 entitled: “A method to disguise or camouflage unsightly buildings that have been boarded up, as an interim solution for an unsightly, or unsafe building that is waiting to be restored, or demolished”.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of urban beautification. More specifically, the present invention is method to beautify urban areas using realistic rendering, external-view camouflage over boarded up doors and windows on abandoned or condemned buildings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many urban areas suffer from the presence of condemned or otherwise uninhabited buildings. These buildings are often protected from unauthorized entry by sealing the window and door penetrations with wooden boards or plywood. Such “boarding up” also protects the general public from dangers which may be associated with such properties.

However, this method of securing the property also yields undesirable effects. First, boards or plywood in place of traditional windows and doors are unpleasant to look at. Second, use of these materials makes the building stand out as being uninhabited. Third, this distinction carries a negative connotation, which tends to detract from the appeal of adjacent properties and generally tends to lower the value of all properties in the surrounding area. Fourth, the obviousness of the vacant, apparently non-maintained condition of the building tends to invite undesired visitors who may use the relative safe haven of the structure for illicit purposes. This tends to foster crime in the affected area.

It is not practical to spend large amounts of money to properly furnish an abandoned or condemned building with suitable doors and windows, and glass windows in particular tend to invite trespassing and vandalism in vacant buildings. Thus, boarding up such a building is safe and financially prudent; factors which tend to outweigh aesthetic and cultural issues in the mind of most owners or caretakers.

It is presumed that if a cost-effective means of addressing the aesthetic and cultural issues could be found for vacant properties, it would tend to be utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Addressing the problems associated with the appearance of abandoned or condemned buildings which may be waiting for new inhabitants or demolition, the present invention provides a method of urban beautification (thereof) utilizing realistic, external-view camouflage applied to the unsightly penetration-sealing materials.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, an external view image of a door or window is placed onto a camouflage sheet. The camouflage sheet is made of paper, plastic, fabric or any other suitable material. In an alternative embodiment, the sheet may be protected with a laminate, such as an adhered UV-resistant plastic.

The external view image is a realistic rendering of what could plausibly be viewed from the outside of a building when looking at a door or through a window. As illustrated in FIG. 1, views for a window camouflage include depictions of an interior of a room, or of a window covering treatment (such as curtains) as viewed from the outside of a window. Views for a door camouflage would include a standard door front. The perspective of any view would be as seen from a chosen point, for example the middle of a street passing in front of the property.

The realistic views are drawn, printed, overlain or printed onto the camouflage sheet in any suitable manner using standard or UV-resistant coloration.

The camouflage sheet is sized for its intended window or door penetration and placed over the offending boards or plywood. The image of the exterior view is positioned so it may be seen from the external of the building. The sheet is secured either to the edges of the penetration or directly to the sealing material itself.

Use of the penetration camouflaging method upgrades the appearance of the subject property and the value of any adjacent properties at an economical cost while still maintaining the protective utility of the board or plywood sealing material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are discussed hereinafter in reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a depiction of an un-inhabited row house 1 with structural penetrations 6, 7, 8 and 9, including three windows and a door, all of which are covered with camouflage sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5. The camouflage sheets exhibit views 2′, 3′, 4′ and 5′ plausibly associated with window and door penetrations as viewed from a point external to the row house.

FIG. 2 is a cut-away view of window penetration 9 of the row house in FIG. 1 to which a layer of egress-preventing plywood 10 has been attached. The layer of plywood is covered by a camouflage sheet 5 depicting an image 5′ of curtains and a flower pot as might be viewed by an intended viewer from a point external to the house.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

A method of urban beautification is disclosed which utilizes camouflage sheets depicting conventional exterior views of structural penetrations to upgrade the appearance of sealing materials which have been applied to such penetrations in unoccupied buildings.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1, one embodiment of the present invention comprises an unoccupied row house 1 in an urban setting to which door camouflage sheet 2 and window camouflage sheets 3, 4, and 5 are applied at respective door penetration 6 and window penetrations 7, 8, and 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, window camouflage sheet 5 is applied over a sealing material 10 such as boards or plywood, which have been fastened over penetration 9 to prevent egress into row house 1. Similar treatment of door and window camouflage sheets 2, 3 and 4 is applied at penetrations 6, 7 and 8.

Camouflage sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5 comprise paper, plastic, fabric or any similar flexible material having a front visible surface (seen in FIGS. 1 and 2) and a rear attachment surface (not shown). Sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5 are sized to cover their respective structural penetrations 6, 7, 8, and 9. Realistic renderings of plausible exterior views 2′, 3′, 4′ and 5′ of the types commonly associated with said respective structural penetrations (i.e., associated with doors and windows) are associated with the front visible surface of each respective sheet 2, 3, 4 and 5. Said association may be accomplished by drawing, painting, overlaying, printing or any other form of image association known in the art.

Said realistic renderings 2′, 3′, 4′, and 5′ may comprise views through a window into the interior of a room (3′ and 5′), views through a window into a window treatment such as a window shade or curtain (4′) or views of the outside of an exterior door (2′) as would be seen from a given distance (e.g., 20 feet) away from said structural penetrations.

In a first alternate embodiment of said camouflage sheet, the form of realistic rendering association with said sheet may include the use of UV resistant colors, paints, overlays or prints in creating such image.

In a second alternate embodiment of the camouflage sheets, they may comprise paper, plastic, fabric or any similar flexible material covered with a laminate, such as a UV laminate.

In a third alternate embodiment of said camouflage sheets, views of a door may include a public or private notice, such as a “No Trespassing” sign or a “Property of (a given party)” sign.

In a first alternate embodiment of said realistic renderings, external views of a door may also include a marquee with a house number.

In an exemplary embodiment of the method of the present invention, an adhesive material is applied to said rear attachment surface of camouflage sheets 2, 3, 4 and 5. Said sheets are then placed against sealing material 10 and held in place until said adhesive firmly engages the two parts joined.

In a first alternate embodiment of the method of the present invention, said camouflage sheet may be applied over sealing material 10, by adhering to the edges of a respective penetration.

Because many varying and different embodiments may be made within the scope of the inventive concept herein taught, and because many modifications may be made in the embodiments herein detailed in accordance with the descriptive requirements of the law, it is to be understood that the details herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 

1. A method of urban beautification of a structure comprising: identifying buildings with structural features having unsightly appearance due to the presence of unfinished material; producing camouflage comprising a masking medium having; a front visible surface; a rear attachment surface; a realistic rendering of exterior views which are commonly associated with said structural features having a perspective as would be seen from a given distance away from said structural features, and which are associated with said first visible surface; and masking the appearance of said unfinished material with said camouflage.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said structural features include structural penetrations.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said structural penetrations comprise one of window, door and similar openings in exterior surfaces of buildings.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said unfinished material comprises one of wooden boards, plywood and similar protective materials applied to said structural penetrations in place of conventional penetration closure features.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein said conventional penetration closure features comprise one of windows and doors.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said masking medium comprises one of paper, plastic and fabric material to which said realistic rendering may be associated and which may be sized to suit said structural features.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said masking medium comprises: one of paper, plastic and fabric material to which said realistic rendering may be associated and which may be sized to suit said structural features; and a translucent protective laminate applied over said paper, plastic and fabric material.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein said exterior views comprise one of a view through a window into the interior of a room, a view through a window into a window treatment, a combination of a view through a window into the interior of a room and a view through a window into a window treatment and a view of the outside of an exterior door.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein said exterior views comprise one of a view through a window into the interior of a room, a view through a window into a window treatment, a combination of a view through a window into the interior of a room and a view through a window into a window treatment and a view of the outside of an exterior door having one of a building number marquee, a message sign and a combination of a building number marquee, a message sign.
 10. The method of claim 1 wherein said a given distance comprises the distance from which intended viewers of said camouflage would view said camouflage.
 11. The method of claim 1 wherein said masking comprises: attaching said camouflage over said unfinished material at the edges of said structural features so as to block visibility of said unfinished material and permit visibility of said first visible surface by intended viewers of said camouflage.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein said masking comprises: attaching said rear attachment surface of said camouflage against said unfinished material so as to block visibility of said unfinished material and permit visibility of said first visible surface by intended viewers of said camouflage.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein said structural features include deteriorated or missing components of an exterior surface of a building.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said deteriorated or missing components of an exterior surface of a building include one of siding, brick, stucco, and stone. 